Help, bamboo is cracking up!

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sverretheflute
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Location: Bergen, Norway

Re: Help, bamboo is cracking up!

Post by sverretheflute »

O_Gaiteiro_do_Chicago wrote:I wouldn't use hose clamps, they might scar the cane the flute is made from. Good old cable ties work great and you just carefully clip them off when done. Before repairing any cracks you need to make a wet chamber to increase the humidity around the flute. Get a PVC tube, cap the bottom and put nearly boiling water in it. Then take the flute and tie a string to it so it suspends from the top of the tube and cap off the top. The trick is to make sure the flute doesnt touch the water at the bottom of the tube. This creates a large amount of humidity and will close the crack. Now get yourself some cable ties and a thing of superglue. Superglue is best because it is NOT flexible. After 6 hours pull the flute out and find the crack, you'll probably notice it closed back up from the humidity. Gently pry the crack open and pour a small amount of superglue into the crack, just enough to fill it. Close up the crack again with cable ties and then hang the flute back in the chamber quickly. Leave it in there another 6 hours and pull it out. Clip off the cable ties and then very carefully with the back of a razor blade scrape off the excess glue. If you desire bind the area(the diagram for doing it was posted above) using upholstery thread, or even fishing line. This method is tried and true and has never failed me. In fact I have one of my main bansuri that was repaired in this manner and I never put the binding on it, the crack has still never opened back up. I learned it from a shakuhachi maker who's used the technique for the past 30 years.

Thanks O_Gaiteiro_do_Chicago! This method seems good, but advanced and a bit risky. I have several versions to choose from now. It's a bit more work than I have opportunity for now. All I want is to keep on playing. This instrument is fascinating difficult to play on. You really have to meet each tone in the lower octave with the shape of your inner mouth. I play further, but not long each time, to prevent too much heat and moisture. I'm really tempted to disappoint myself and all you guys, and do the duct tape shortcut...

Thank you too brewerpaul and MeMyselfandI for useful points. I have not had the flute for long in my house, started to play the same day as I bought it. AND...., I have just moved to a new house/apartment. This house has hard days both to adjust to a bit abnormal could weather outside, and my climate demands inside... So the climate is really not stabile here yet...
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